Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Rubber dropped the most in more than
three weeks as Japan’s currency jumped to a two-week high
against the dollar, reducing the appeal of yen-denominated
futures.

The contract for delivery in March lost 2.6 percent to
261.5 yen a kilogram ($2,682 a metric ton) on the Tokyo
Commodity Exchange, the lowest settlement since Oct. 10. It was
the biggest daily loss since Sept. 27.

The yen rebounded to 97.27 per dollar, the strongest level
since Oct. 9. It was bought as a haven as China’s benchmark
money-market rate jumped the most since July, triggering sales
of Asian stocks. A U.S. Labor Department report showed yesterday
employers added 148,000 workers in September, below the 180,000
gain projected in a Bloomberg survey.

“Futures in Tokyo came under pressure as the yen
rebounded,” said Gu Jiong, an analyst at broker Yutaka Shoji Co.
in Tokyo. “A drop in the Chinese market also damped investor
sentiment.”

Worries about an economic slowdown in China, the world’s
largest consumer, have persisted even after expansion of the
nation’s gross domestic product to 7.8 percent in the third
quarter. Growth may slow to 7.6 percent this year, the weakest
pace since 1999, according to the median estimate of economists
in a Bloomberg survey.

Rubber for January delivery on the Shanghai Futures
Exchange lost 1.7 percent to close at 20,105 yuan ($3,303) a ton.
Thai rubber free-on-board was unchanged at 79.55 baht ($2.56) a
kilogram yesterday, according to the Rubber Research Institute
of Thailand. Thai markets are closed today for holiday.